Functional & Adorable
by BeyondTomorrowithyou
Summary: Guy has Belt, Thunk has Douglas. So...why can't Eep have her own cute pet? This idea has been bugging me for AGES...& I've FINALLY written it! As well as being my very 1st Eep POV Story! Hope I wrote her in a way similar the writers of the film would have! Warning - Cuteness OVERLOAD! XD
1. A Cloak in the rain

**When I thought about _what_ sort of pet eep would have I immediately thought of animals that were light & fast. But I also wanted her pet to be off the CHARTS on the cute factor (sorry Belt!). But like Belt, I wanted this pet to be one that would constantly cling onto eep (like Pikachu). So I came up with the animal combination of a Red Panda crossed with a Squirrel Glider (an Australian Gliding Possum), called a Panda Glider - what could be a _cuter_ combo?! I took inspiration from Legend of Korra character Pabu (Fire Ferret) when thinking up this animal. Now I can't draw for the _life_ of me so I'll just describe it:**

**I imagined a Panda Glider with the head, facial features, paws & tail of a Red Panda & the patagium (skin flaps) & the black stripe (that extends from head to back) of the Squirrel Glider. The main colouration would come from the Red Panda though.**

**Hope that was enough of a description - enjoy the story!**

* * *

I dashed from tree to tree, trying stay ahead of the storm, now only a few steps behind me. I'd been collecting shells along the far end of the coastline, it was the only place to find anything shell-related anymore; seeing as how much everyone frequented the main beach these days. '_Though I wouldn't need to collect this many if a certain brother of mine didn't drop everything that got handed to him!'_ And seeing as the weather had been up & down so much lately, my job was _anything_ but simple. I didn't use my shell that much really, but we all felt more comfortable having at least one on us. But today had been pretty good, up until an hour ago when I heard one of the few noises that always sent a chill through my spine. Thunder. Rain I don't mind but if anything noise related accompanies it, well….UGHH! I can't stand_ any_ of it! Well that &...earth tremors. The fact that both these things sound eerily similar doesn't make coping any easier! Even Tomorrow has its challenges. At one time, our camp had to be completely rebuilt from the ground up. My point being that, whenever it storms, _everything_ is affected. This one didn't look like it had reached that point yet, but I know _far_ too well how everything can change at a moment's notice. Which was proven minutes later. As I reached for the next branch, a giant blur of furry red creatures bounded in front of me. _What_ they were exactly, I couldn't figure out they were moving so fast. With my timing messed up, I only _just_ managed to clutch a branch no bigger than my hand. Then another clap of thunder rang. I couldn't stay in the trees anymore. Running was my best bet. As I slid down the trunk, out of nowhere; I felt something hit me in the chest, _hard_. I looked down & saw something wet, furry...& red. Just like the creatures that had hurdled past me before. But this one looked fairly young, far smaller than the ones I'd seen before. I tried to ease the little critter off, but that just made it dig its claws into me harder. It shivered in my arms, clinging to me…...like Sandy did with Mum whenever she got scared. As soon as I got down the tree, (which wasn't easy considering the circumstances) I managed to get a better look at this critter latched onto me. And it was…..actually...…very cute. It had a red & white face, black paws, a stripe running down its back towards the end of its tail & long flaps of skin that ran from its wrists to its ankles. As far as I could tell, this was a male. I still couldn't figure out what this animal was; but it wasn't like I had _time_ to. As if on cue, lightning struck a tree no further than 20 feet from me. The little fur ball finally clambered off my chest, over my shoulder &...hid in my hair. I rolled my eyes, but smiled. 'Fine, _hide_ in my hair. But I hope you're prepared for a fast ride.'

* * *

The rain was at full pelt now. I sprinted past the trees, now only a few hundred metres from the camp base. I pulled out one of the new shells I'd picked up & blew. A minute later, I heard the returning signal. Guy heard me! I blew again as I entered the clearing. Guy was at the edge of the main canopy tent, a relieved expression on his face. 'Glad you made it back before it got any worse.' I shook my head. 'Nah, it wasn't that bad, besides it…gave me a challenge.' Guy smiled. He wasn't fooled – he knows I hate thunderstorms. But unlike Thunk or Gran, he never teases me about it. Or _any_ of the ideas I come up with, regardless whether they end up working or not. It being one of the _many_ reasons I love being around him. But I wasn't sure what his exact reaction would be to what was hiding in my hair. 'I have something to show you.' His smile turned curious. 'Cool, what'd you have?' I needed to tell him this somewhere quiet but as Dad happened to walk in, no such luck. My little friend shivered within my hair, but stayed out of sight. 'Eep, are you ok? You _know_ what we agreed on about storms!' 'I _know_ Dad, I'm sorry. It came out of nowhere ok, there was nothing I could do.' Mum stepped in here, at the right time as usual. 'Grug, she got here as quick as possible; she's the fastest out of _all_ of us. She's safe now. So stop working yourself up!' She gave Dad a light smack on the shoulder. He raised his hands in surrender. 'Okay, but I _don't_ want a repeat of this.' I decided to lighten the mood here. 'Yeah Dad, I _love_ to repeat getting drenched while running through raging thunderstorms.' Guy snickered behind me. I didn't get any laughs out of Dad, though I could tell he was fighting a smile. 'Why it is that _humour_ is your means of getting out of conflict with me nowadays?' I smirked. 'Didn't realise you missed the yelling.' Dad couldn't keep his face straight now. 'Go on then, dry off.' He chucked a dry animal hide my way. I was getting pretty good at defusing him nowadays. I turned to Guy. 'Still want to see?' He grinned in response. 'Have I ever said no?' I felt my little critter moving around. I had to tell him now, but not with Dad around. 'Let's go to my tent.'

* * *

As we sat down, I breathed out. 'We won't be needing anymore shells for a while now.' I spread them out on the floor. I'd managed to collect 11 in all. Guy looked them over. 'Nice…..Now show me what you _really _found.' I attempted a half-smile. 'What gives the impression I have something else?' As Guy answered me, Belt raised his claws one by one. 'You were in a rush from the moment you got back.' (first claw) 'You've been biting your lip the whole time, which you _only_ do when you're nervous about something.' (second claw) 'Not to mention…..your hair is _moving_.' (third claw).

He was right on all accounts. I sighed, then parted my hair. 'Come on, time to say hello.' Slowly, he poked his head through, sitting on my shoulder. I stroked the top of his head. Doing this seemed to keep him calm. Guy & Belt just stared. The word surprised, didn't _begin_ to describe the looks on their faces. 'Well say _something_.' Guy blinked in reaction. 'Sorry, I just haven't seen any creature like this for ages. Where'd you find him?' 'In the bushlands to the north, not far from the coastline. Wait, have you seen this animal before?' Guy looked at him closely. 'Only a handful of times. My parents called it...a _Panda Glider!_ In this case, a _Red_ Panda Glider.'

_Finally_, I could call this little one something other than an "it". Then he curled up in my lap, nudging my hand. 'Fine, more stroking…...Wow, you're really soft.' He felt completely different to when he'd been wet. 'Guy, feel this.' Guy reached out to pet him. At first he hesitated, sniffing Guy's hand & then looked at me. 'Trust me, you don't have anything to fear with _him_.' For a moment he remained hesitant, then looked back to Guy.…..& accepted his touch. 'So how'd you come across him?' Thinking back on the memory, I tried not to laugh. Course that just made Guy look all the more curious. 'You won't be able to keep a straight face _either_ once I finish!' I didn't leave anything out & as predicted, he was in stitches. He cracked up _hard_ when I told him the little glider decided my hair was the safest place. 'Then again, you _do _keep a fair few items in there!' _That_ made me chuck a shell at him (lightly though).

* * *

'He's a cool little critter, wouldn't mind having a pet like that myself.' That earned him a dirty look from Belt. '_But_ he's no cook, conversationalist or navigator.' Belt seemed satisfied with that. I looked again at the little glider. '_Is he my pet?'_ I had our red Bear Owl Flare, but she was as much Guy's pet as she was mine. We had gained a whole menagerie of pets since arriving at Tomorrow, but lately Dad had been saying he'd had enough. And seeing as we had nearly 10 animals already, I'd say it was somewhat understandable. 'Well, maybe. We'll see. He might head back once the storm clears.' Guy shrugged. 'He seems pretty happy with you.' The little glider then proceeded to climb atop my head, lean over my face; his head upside down. Guy smiled at this. 'Example one!' Then, losing his balance the glider fell over my head & onto my lap again. Now _I_ was the one who couldn't keep a straight face. 'Fine, he _would_ be pretty fine as a pet, but if he'd rather be out in the bush...I'm not going to stop him. Guy nodded. 'Fair enough. But usually it's the pets who choose their owners more often than not. It's been the case with nearly all our pets so far.' I admit I'd never thought about _why_ our animals decided to become our pets. But we'd never _forced_ it on them, they just seemed satisfied to stay with us. And that suited us just fine. Looking again at this little one in my lap, I couldn't help but get hopeful that maybe, he might stick around.

Then I felt teeth gnawing at my hand. 'Hey! I'm not your personal _chew_ slave!' But he wrapped his paws around my hand & kept at it. The look on Guy's face left me somewhat peeved. 'Stop _laughing!_' 'Ha heh! Sorry! But I _wish_ you two could _see_ yourselves right now!' Despite my annoyance, I ended up grinning. 'Point made. Let's find him some food before he decides _you_ taste better!' 'Heh, true.' But what _was_ I going to give him? 'Eh, you don't happen to know a Panda Glider's diet?' Guy furrowed his brow. 'Hmm, I can't say for sure. But since you found him in the Bushlands I'm guessing he eats fruit, maybe bugs or both.' It was then I saw the little glider eyeing the fruit Belt had just grabbed out of Guy's waist pack. I looked at him pleadingly. 'Think you can spare a few grapes Belt?' Belt wasn't too keen, but handed them over anyway.

I held the fruit in front of the glider, but although he was clearly hungry, he just stared at the food. Then he looked to me with that same uncertain expression. 'No one's going to take it. Go on.' Almost immediately, his body relaxed. He turned back to the grapes in my hand, which were gone in the next minute. Guy looked at me oddly. 'What?' 'Does he _always_ look to you before doing anything?' That question took me by surprise. 'It looked as if….he was asking your permission.' I hadn't considered that before. 'I...don't know. It never occurred to me like that. I just thought he was nervous because of the storm.' Guy stared at the glider in my arms. 'Hmm, he is young. But once a bond's formed, there's no breaking it.' Now I was the one with the odd expression. 'What do you mean?' 'From everything you've told me & what I've seen, he looks to you as his source of protection, survival & company. Your hair could be a contributing factor too.' That answer, only created _further_ questions. 'How do you figure _that_?' 'Think about it. Your hair is red & thick, not all that different from his coat. The fact that he hid inside your hair further backs that up. If he got separated from his group, you were probably the closest thing he associated with them.' His answer surprised me, but thinking it over, I completely agreed with it. 'Huh, that actually makes a lot of sense.'

* * *

'So, any thoughts on a name? Or is he staying as "Little One"?' Despite the fact my thoughts had been centred around this little critter the _entire_ time, a name had _never_ entered my mind. 'Mmm, don't know. He's not going to stay this size, so there's no point in calling him that.' He started climbing on me again, his front paws clinging round my neck, his head on my shoulder; the rest of his body hanging down my back. Guy hid a smile, trying his best not to giggle. _ Everything_ this little one did turned into something hilarious. 'It looks like you're wearing a live mini cloak!' From that one sentence, an idea came to me. 'Hey, you sorted out his name for me!' He cocked an eyebrow. 'How'd I do that?' I picked the glider off my shoulder & held him up, his skin flaps wide. 'When his body is spread out, it looks as if he has a cloak attached down from his wrists to his ankles, & as you pointed out it looks as if I'm wearing one now. So, I think I'll settle for calling him….Cloak.' Guy's eyes grew wide for a moment. 'Actually, that really suits him. I haven't seen him get off you _once_.' He glanced at Belt around his waist, a grin appearing. 'So it looks like we're carrying on the practice of naming our pets after clothing items.' I grinned back. 'I guess so!'

Then my thoughts turned back to the only problem at hand. Guy noticed my expression. 'I'm sure Grug won't mind. Somehow, I _highly_ doubt Cloak will be any more trouble than the pets we have already!' I smiled at him gratefully. 'The one scary thing about you, is how you _read_ me so well!' 'Pffft! Maybe I'll manage to scare Grug if I keep at it!' We _both_ keeled over in stitches after that!

I decided to leave Cloak in my tent that night. It was probably best to let the storm blow over (figuratively _&_ literally) before saying anything to Dad. To be honest, whatever argument he put up tomorrow, somehow I doubted it would end badly. Cloak hadn't needed to do much to win me or Guy over. _None_ of our pets had. And odds were, we'd at least have Mum on our side quickly. She _was_ getting better at speaking up to Dad a _lot_ more lately.

I sank down onto my grass mat. I didn't want to have to deal with anything more until I _had_ to. Then I remembered – I needed to give _Cloak_ somewhere to sleep. Then I felt something land softly on my stomach. Cloak walked over, & curled up in the crook of my neck, nuzzling his head against my face. I knew he'd be dependent on me for a while yet. But as to where he wanted to be, well – he'd made _that_ decision perfectly clear.

* * *

**Praying you guys like reading this as much as I enjoyed _writing_ it!**


	2. A Cloak of Calibre

**_I had to go back & give Cloak more personality & I wanted to experiment on how he would integrate into the Croods Clan! _**

**_This story is also from eep's POV_**

**_I've also decided to write a bit on how (I think) eep interacts with her siblings (since its barely touched on in the film). My next story after this will probably be focused on this topic._**

**_Anyways - read & (please) review!_**

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'I _swear_ Thunk! If you _don't_ start controlling that croc mutt of yours, I'll stuff & use him as a personal _foot_ rest!' 'Please Eep, no! Douglas didn't mean it! He just, uh…wanted to play tag?' Now I was seeing red. 'Since _when_ does tag involve growling & snapping at one's _heels_?!'

Honestly! I felt ready to bring forth the wrath of The _End_ at this point! Figuring out how to help Cloak adapt to a crazy enough family, I didn't need to deal with another pet intent on _killing_ him! Out of all of them..._Douglas_! Flare & Chunky on the other hand, had been total _pussycats _towards Cloak!

'Having trouble Eep?' Even with Dad behind me, already I knew there'd be a smirk on his face. Don't get me wrong, talking Dad into letting Cloak stay had been _far_ easier – no comparison _needed_. Oh he'd _tried_ to argue back at first, but Mum completely _swooned_ upon seeing him. 'Awww! Eep where'd you find this cute little one!' After that, the debate was pretty much won. But he'd made it clear that _any_ trouble that ensued with Cloak after would be on me. Though he'd said the same thing when Guy & I had brought our red Bear Owl Flare home. But she'd had no trouble integrating into our brood – then again she _was_ the 2nd largest pet we had (after Chunky), which _probably_ helped in asserting herself amongst the rest. But the _minute_ I let Cloak step outside, Douglas gave him a clear as day _Death_ stare & went on to chase him. How could Dad blame this on _me_?! 'Ugh. _No_ Dad, I got it. '_Even though it's not my fault!_' Dad gave a confident shrug. 'I _did_ say another pet would be one too many.' I clenched my teeth together. 'Says the man who brought over _half_ of them to Tomorrow – across a _chasm_.'

That shut Dad up.

I ran after the pair, cutting off Douglas' path. Cloak used the chance to climb atop the main canopy tent, tentatively looking over to see if Douglas followed. But I had him grasped by the scruff at this point. I stormed over to Thunk & shoved Douglas into his arms. 'I'm trying my best with my pet, is it _too_ much to ask you to do the same?' 'I don't know Eep. Douglas just doesn't listen to "No" related things.' My eyes narrowed. 'Tough. You're _both_ going to end up hearing that word a _lot_ from now on! I know you're a pushover Thunk, but this is getting _ridiculous_! And believe me when I say I'll step in if Douglas crosses the line _again_.' Thunk & Dad remained silent, but my anger was still there.

Then Guy called me over. 'Eep, do you mind helping check over the traps on the west part of the beach?' I looked at Guy's expression, which told a different story to the words he'd just spoken. But letting off steam here wasn't going to do anybody any good. I sighed, then nodded. 'Yeah, sure.'

* * *

After checking over several traps (which so far had only caught a few Piranhakeets & Quail Beavers), Guy broke the silence. 'Did you really have to be as hard on Thunk as you did?' I _knew_ there'd been a reason to why he'd asked me for help at that _exact_ moment. 'Well, to be honest Guy, who _else_ is _ever_ hard on him?' I'd stumped him there. 'I guess that's true, but not everyone's as tough as you don't forget – _me_ included!'

'Pffft! Point taken, I admit I let my frustrations get away from me a bit, I'm just saying it wouldn't hurt for him to be assertive when necessary.' I looked up at Cloak (now on my head). 'And it wouldn't hurt for _you_ to stand up for yourself either, you've got claws – _use_ them!'

Suddenly Cloak lifted his head & jumped to a nearby tree. He screeched loudly towards something several metres ahead. It was a Punch Monkey searching through one of the nets we'd set up to catch fallen fruit. We knew the best way to get rid of these pests was to bribe them, but this monkey already _had_ what he wanted! Fighting them was out of the question, as (my Dad) knew from previous experience. But before we'd even thought anything through, Cloak glided down rapidly, landing on _top_ of this monkey. 'Cloak _no_!' But Cloak lunged at the Punch Monkey scratching it right across the nose. The thieving monkey retaliated by throwing a punch – Cloak; fangs bared, grabbed hold of its fist & bit down hard. I'd never heard any living thing scream as loud as that monkey did just then. They took to the trees, Cloak gliding to avoid any further punches. He jumped on a palm tree, shaking off several coconuts. The monkey fell back in a heap as the hard fruit crashed on top of him. Cloak headed back down towards the punched out primate, but by then _anyone_ would've had enough. He scrambled away towards the forest, leaving the fruit untouched.

I let out the breath I'd been holding as Cloak glided onto my shoulder. 'When I said stand up for yourself, I didn't mean go for something of _that_ calibre!' Cloak lowered his ears. 'Still, Douglas won't be hard to deal with now, will he?'

* * *

**_2 Days Later:_**

'No Douglas! _Bad_ Crocopup!'

As déjà vu would have it, Douglas once again made a beeline for Cloak. I knew where _this_ was headed….at least I thought I did. Cloak headed towards the canopy tent. But then took off on a glide straight towards Douglas…& promptly _bopped_ him one, over the head! Douglas yelped & bounded away, tail _well_ under his legs.

It took _everything _for me to stop then & there from falling to the floor laughing. As Cloak landed on my back, I ducked back into the trees. Turns out Guy had the same idea. His expression said as much.

Then Douglas dashed past us, Thunk struggling to keep up. Cloak (once again on my head) fluffed up his fur & made an unmistakable snickering noise. Guy's next sentence proved _fatal_ to my composure. 'Douglas hard to deal with?'

That did it – we were on the floor within seconds! Thank _Tomorrow_ these trees block out sound so well!


End file.
